Building technology has an ancient history. Amongst the most classical forms is “Beam and Post” construction. Construction techniques based upon the use of pre-cast panels for forming walls are also known. This includes panels which are tipped-up for positioning on a pre-installed foundation and then fastened together by various means.
In the case of pre-cast systems, wall panels have been employed incorporating pre-cast beams and posts, (serving as studs and as top and footer plates) already cast in place on wall portions, cf. U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,278. Being based upon fully pre-cast panels, exposed metal linkages are typically used to join adjacent panels along the top and bottom perimeters.
A number of prior art inventions that describe the use of pre-cast concrete wall panels are referred-to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,864,999 and 6,244,005 by this present inventor, the contents of which are adopted herein by reference. These latter references describe a pre-cast wall panel with inwardly extending, vertical flange portions that have reinforcing members protruding downward for coupling to a footing member, typically pre-cast. The footing member may be pre-cast or cast on-site.
The casting of footings on-site in conjunction with the simultaneous casting of vertical members is addressed in a number of prior art references. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,367,845; 5,922,236 and 6,332,599 all contemplate the simultaneous filling of a wall form and a footing form to produce a continuous wall overlaying a footing. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,82,33 and 5,785,459 as well as application US 2002/0079424 A-1 refer to the simultaneous formation of a post over a footing wherein the forms for an interconnected footing and post are left in place after the concrete grout has been poured and set.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,266 vertical forms to serve as posts for a wall are filled simultaneously with a separately provided form that defines the volume of a footing. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,628 vertical forms fastened to a wall are connected to horizontal form means positioned along their upper ends. Both such form means are then filled simultaneously to provide posts to support the wall, together with a top beam or plate. Corresponding French patents to the same inventors are FR 4,406,049 and FR 2,717,848.
The above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,999 to the present inventor describes a system for installing a fully prefabricated wall with pre-cast flanges on a pre-cast footing. According to the design of U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,005, pre-cast concrete panels are fitted with hollow forms which allow beams and posts to be cast on-site over footings. In this second case, a cast-on-site concrete upper plate or beam is formed by pouring concrete into an upper trough that has been fitted with linked reinforcing rods. This provides a fully secured upper plate perimeter for the final wall structure. Conceptually, this is the reverse of classic beam and post construction wherein the walls are added as in-fill after the beams and posts are erected.
Many of the aforesaid inventions presuppose that a separate footing is to be employed upon which the wall panels are to be anchored. The present invention is premised on the formation of a footing portion at the job site, rather than by casting the footing separately, with the footing being formed at the same time as portions of the wall support system.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.